This invention relates to means for generating mechanical work and, more particularly, to means for generating the mechanical work required to drive a load, which are commonly referred to as "prime movers" or "drives."
Heretofore, the conventional means for generating the mechanical work required to drive a load (i.e. conventional "drives" or "prime movers," such as internal combustion motors and electrically-powered and fluid-powered motors, and the like) have been constructed such that a single means, which must mechanically generate both a heat component of work and a non-heat component of work to drive the load, has been directly mechanically interconnected to the load. And, as a result, a considerable portion of the work input to these old conventional mechanical work generating means has been consumed by the mechanical generation by them of the non-heat component of work to meet the mass inertia demands of the load.
However, I have found that the work input consumption, which was inherently high in the aforedescribed old conventional "drives" or "prime movers," can be greatly reduced by employing the novel mechanical work generating means that are provided in accordance with the present invention.